


You are my sanctuary

by httpshino



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Buttercup is adorable, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Grammarly checked though, Gunshot Wounds, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Beta, Owen is a worried dad, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Team is worried as well, There may be medical inaccuracies but I'm doing the most research I can, carlos is a worried boyfriend, everyone is worried
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:06:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28533378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/httpshino/pseuds/httpshino
Summary: Aftermath of TK getting shot
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 128





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome to a new story! 😇  
> I'll try to update once every few days, but school might be taking up a lot of my time. I'll be updating on my Tumblr as well (@iwatchalotofseries) if something may delay an update! 
> 
> Title is based on Sanctuary - Welshly Arms

It had been a relatively calm day at the station honestly, which was rare. They had a call involving some rattlesnakes. Which was, at least up until that point, the most excitement they got that day. 

Right now, they 126 have been dispatched to a possible cardiac event. 

It was a strange call. A man, Bruce, had dementia and wandered into the wrong home. The rightful owners were, legitimately so, scared out of their minds. Apparently, Bruce has been banging on the bedroom door, thinking his wife was in there. Luckily they could locate the wife and the issue was fixed soon after. 

Until the caller’s husband collapsed. That’s where they were heading right now. ‘I’m being told bedroom southwest corner.’ Dispatch’s voice came over the radio.

‘Copy that.’ Owen responded. They were heading towards the house, TK had the battering ram at the ready in case they needed it. They found said bedroom quickly. 

Owen moved towards the door and knocked. ‘Austin Fire and Rescue!’ The woman’s scared voice came through the door seconds later. ‘Please help, he’s not breathing.’ Owen tried to open the door but it wasn’t budging. He nodded towards TK, a sign he could break open the door. ‘One, two…’ TK whispered, swinging the ram back and forth. On the third count, he brought the ram hard enough towards the door to swing it open. 

_BANG._

White-hot pain seared through his chest. What in the world? Blood spattered on the wall behind him and the doorway next to him. Jesus _Christ_ it hurts. He grabbed the door frame in support, feeling the strength leaving from his legs. Looking towards his dad, all he saw was the worry etched onto his face. He saw his dad’s lips moving, but he couldn’t understand what he was saying, it all sounded like a big mumble of noise to him.

TK managed to grab Owen’s shoulder before all of the strength left him. He felt another female hand on his back, keeping him from smashing into the ground. He managed to turn his head enough to see that it was Michelle. 

‘TK? Stay with me TK?!’ he heard someone say. He couldn’t for the life of his know who it was though. Hands flew over his body in order to take in the damage. 

The last thing he saw before his world turned black was his dad’s worried face, begging him to stay awake. But he couldn’t, he really tried his best but he just couldn’t. 

Then the darkness took him under and he knew nothing anymore.

* * *

_BANG._

Owen looked around wildly. At first, he thought it was the door banging against the wall. That was until he heard the now labored breathing of his son next to him. ‘Was that a gunshot?’ His eyes flew towards his son, who was now holding himself up in the doorway. ‘TK?’

TK grabbed Owen’s shoulder, turning his head towards his dad, eyes wide with fear. His trembling fingers tangled themselves into the fabric of his jacket. All of the strength he had left him in seconds and soon he was making his way onto the unforgiving ground. Owen kept him from smashing into it. ‘TK?!, TK?!!’ His eyes caught the growing dark patch on his son's chest. _God damn it._

Michelle moved behind TK as well, putting her hand on TK’s back to gently lower him down. ‘TK? Stay with me TK?!’ she said. Her professional hands moved to assess the damage the bullet has done and to cut open his shirt.

TK tried to swat her hands away. Owen moved into his field of vision quickly to calm him down. ‘TK, come on son. I can’t lose you.’ he pleaded. He saw his son’s eyelids grow heavier and heavier. ‘No, no, no. Please TK?’ Owen tried to plead once more but TK was slipping away, eyelids completely closed now. Owen's heart pounded into his ears, fear took over his whole body.

Michelle pulled open her bag and grabbed a pair of scissors to cut open his shirt, the bullet close was way too close to his lung for her liking. She took exactly three seconds to take a deep breath before she turned back to the rest of the team.

‘Tim, go help him.’ she motioned towards the still unconscious husband. Tim moved quickly to take over the CPR the wife still was applying. ‘Owen, please radio for an extra RA unit, we’re going to need one.’ she continued. Owen stared towards the still body of his son. She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes to get his attention. ‘Owen, I need you now. Come on.’ 

Owen shook his head to collect himself, locking the fear away for now. ‘Right, sorry-’ he stood up, grabbing his radio. He put his fears aside for a second. Michelle was good at her job, if not the best. He trusted her with his son. ‘-dispatch, we got shots fired and a firefighter down. We need a second RA unit to our location immediately.’ Dispatch responded with an affirmative that they were three minutes out. 

Michelle turned her attention back to TK. She moved to put electrodes on his chest to keep track of his heart rate. ‘Right-’ she started, getting the attention of Owen and the rest of the team. She put some occlusive dressing on the wound, this should help completely close the wound off and protect it from outside intruders like infections. ‘-we got a possible pneumothorax. We need to get him ready for transport ASAP.’ she continued. It was then that Michelle heard an additional set of sirens arriving, which meant the new RA unit had arrived. Right on time, she thought. Nancy rushed in with the headboard while the other team moved towards the other man. 

‘We got him.’ the voice of a new paramedic said to Tim. Michelle didn’t see who it was though, she was still laser focused on making sure TK would be okay. Paul and Owen helped move TK on his side so they could secure him to the backboard. What worried her is that TK didn’t even react to being moved, it must’ve hurt like hell. 

Once TK was tightly secured to the yellow board, they moved him towards the stretcher and into the ambulance. Michelle and Nancy got in the back while Tim raced around to get in the front. 

‘Go on Owen, we’ll take care of this.’ Paul said to him, hand on his shoulder in comfort. He looked towards the rest of the team, they all had smiles on their faces but their eyes showed the worry they must be feeling as well. TK was one of their own, part of their family. Judd still needed to be notified as well. The Texan would be pissed if they kept this from him.

Owen nodded in thanks, not being able to find his voice right now. He pulled himself up into the ambulance and closed the door behind him. Michelle slapped her hands on the wall dividing the back of the front as a sign Tim could go. 

The ride to the hospital passed in a blur. He noticed Nancy and Michelle moving to take care of TK but all he felt were his son’s still fingers in his. His gaze was set on the monitor tracking TK’s vitals. His heart rate was okay-ish, for now, but his O2 levels were wrong. Owen’s heart sank. This probably meant Michelle’s earlier call of a possible pneumothorax wasn’t a possibility anymore, it was now a fact. 

Soon, they were pulling up to the hospital. Owen jumped out of the ambulance. Michelle and Nancy quickly followed. They pulled the stretcher out of the ambulance and rode it into the ER. 

Tim already radioed in while they were still on their way to the hospital, so a team of doctors and nurses were already waiting to take care of TK. Michelle rambled out everything she knew. Owen only caught the words _pneumothorax_ and _possible brain injury._ His heart sank for the second time in what felt like minutes. The leading doctor nodded in thanks and soon TK was pulled away behind closed doors. 

The only thing Owen could do now was to sink into a waiting room chair. He lowered his head into his hands and just let the tears flow, sobs wrecked through his whole body. Michelle sank down beside him, pulling him into her. 

‘He’ll be fine Owen. He’s a fighter and you and I both know it.’ her soothing voice made his way into his jumbled thoughts. It just made him cry even harder though. ‘I can’t lose him, Michelle, I can’t. I don’t know what I’d do if something happens.’ he cried out, not caring if everyone in the ER was looking at him or not. 

Michelle kept rubbing her hand in circles on Owen’s back in comfort. ‘They’re going to do everything they can to save him.’ 

Owen could only nod as he let the rest of the tears flow. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen tells Carlos and the team come to the hospital as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> I did not expect that the first chapter would be read so much already!😯   
> Thank you all who read it and thank you for the kudo's!! ❤️
> 
> Enjoy chapter 2!

Owen took the seat to the left side of the bed, taking TK’s hand in his. He took in his son’s slack face, the nasal cannula running beneath his nose and his chest moving up and down slowly, taking in the air his lungs so desperately need. The latter was the sign that his son was still here,  _ alive _ . 

It’s terrifying honestly, seeing him lay here so incredibly still. It brought his memories back from TK in New York, laying on the ground unmoving, pills scattered all around him. He was lucky he found him when he did. 

Owen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Opening his eyes, he grabbed TK’s hand and started rubbing his thumb over his knuckles. It was something he did to comfort him when TK was still just a small kid. 

Suddenly, a thought hit him. Carlos was there on the scene, but he didn’t know if he knew that TK had been injured yet. So Owen decides to give him a call. He wasn’t sure what was going on between the two,  _ yet _ , but Carlos deserved to know nonetheless. There was something between the two that he didn’t see with TK and Alex. He was happy for his son, to finally have someone to be there for him no matter what. Carlos was a damn good guy.

He leaned forwards to grab his phone from his back pocket. Quickly scrolling through his contacts until he reached Carlos’. TK had given his number in case of emergencies and in Owen’s eyes, this was an emergency. He took a deep breath before pressing the call button.

It rang three times before a tired voice came through the speaker. ‘This is officer Reyes.’

‘Hey, Carlos, it’s Owen.’ 

‘Mr. Strand? Is everything okay?’ Carlos asked, worry seeping through his voice. He was still at work, his shift was ending soon though. But he was still stuck doing the paperwork of the case with the demented guy. 

‘Please, call me Owen. I told you that already.’ he chuckled as he heard Carlos chuckle as well. ‘But listen, something happened at the call earlier. You know, with Bruce?’ Owen waited for an affirmative response on the other side of the phone. Once he heard a slight hum, he continued. 

‘The owners of the house that called about the break-in, they locked themselves in their bedroom with their grandson right?’ This time, he didn’t wait for a response before quickly continuing. ‘The husband collapsed, it was a possible cardiac event so we needed to move quickly. The door was still locked though, so TK opened the door with the battering ram.’ Owen sucked in a quick breath of air, still shaken from everything that happened. ‘The grandkid... he found his grandfather's gun. He must’ve thought we were the intruders.’

Carlos took in a shaky breath, tears welling up in his eyes. He could guess where this was going, he was a police officer for Christ's sake. But god, he hoped he was wrong.

‘Carlos, he shot TK.’ 

There it was.

Carlos' heart dropped. His hands immediately started shaking. ‘Is he-’ He took a deep breath as he was having difficulty finding his voice. ‘Is he okay?’ he managed to croak out. He knew what kind of damage a bullet could cause and it terrified him. 

‘He could be better, I’m not going to sugar coat it. He’s in a coma now. His lung collapsed and we don’t know about any brain injuries until he wakes up.’ Owen said with a sad voice. ‘But he’s a strong kid Carlos, he’ll do everything he can to come back to us.’

Carlos hoped that was true, he didn’t know what he would do without TK. ‘Okay.’ he breathed out, rubbing his hands across his face. ‘Can I come to visit later?’ 

‘Of course, you can, you don’t even have to ask.’ Owen reassured him. 

‘Right. Sorry. See you later then.’ Carlos said. 

‘Bye.’ Owen said, ending the phone call. He put the phone back in his pocket and leaned over to grab TK’s hand again. He wondered when the rest of the team would get here, surely they’d be done at the house now.

On cue, he heard the doors open behind him. 

There they were, their team,  _ their family.  _ All of them have changed out of their uniforms and into more comfortable clothing. Owen wanted that as well but he was scared to leave TK, not when he could so easily slip away. It was already bad enough that he could do nothing to help him.

The team gathered at the end of the bed. It was only now that Owen realized that Judd had joined them as well. All of them looked towards the still form of the bed, taking in any damage that has been done to one of their own. A silence settled over the room, all of them lost in their own thoughts. 

Moments later, Paul was the one who broke the silence. ‘How is he?’ he asked.

‘He’s as okay as he can be, for now.’ Owen started. ‘They managed to reinflate his lung. But we won’t know about any brain damage until he wakes up.’ He heard Judd mutter a curse. ‘I should’ve been there.’ he scoffed. 

‘Judd, none of us could’ve prevented this. Not even you.’ Owen said. Judd huffed but stayed silent nonetheless. Owen knew he was just worried for TK, everyone was. ‘I’m going to call Grace.’ he said, stepping out into the waiting room. 

More time passed and one by one each team member left the room to wait in the waiting room. Each of them trying to comfort Owen in their own ways. Mumbles of ‘he’ll be okay’ and soft but comforting hands on his shoulder as they passed by. It felt nice, not having to do this by himself. They’d built their own family here and Owen was grateful for that. 

He tried a couple of times to get them to go home though. Hours have passed without any news, so there really was nothing to wait for. But after the looks he got, he threw his hands up in surrender and stepped back into TK’s room.

He settled back into the chair. ‘The whole team is here.’ he started. He read somewhere that people in a coma can hear their loved ones. So who was he not to try. ‘I tried to get them to go home, but Marjan’s out there getting them all hyped up on caffeine so I don’t think they’re going anywhere.’ 

Owen’s eyes settled on TK’s face again, hoping for some kind of reaction. ‘I talked to your mom. That was a fun conversation. She went into full lawyer mode.’ a smile appeared on Owen’s face. TK’s mom was always kind of overprotective of him. ‘She practically deposed the doctor. Asking him a million medical questions.’

‘The good news is he told her they were able to reinflate your lung, but uhm-’ Owen moved his eyes to look at the wall behind TK’s bed. ‘we won’t know about any brain issues until you wake up.’

His eyes moved back to watch his son. ‘But I told her not to worry, that her beautiful, strong, resilient kid will be on his feet in no time.’ Owen said, laying his hand onto TK’s cheek, hoping to provide some comfort for his son. 

‘TK?’ Owen moved back into his chair. ‘If you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand okay?’ he asked, grabbing TK’s hand. He didn’t get any response though. A feeling of sadness settled itself into his heart. He looked at TK with a sad expression. ‘Come back to me son.’ he whispered. 

It was at that moment that he heard a shuffle behind him. He turned around to check if it was someone from his own team. It wasn’t though, it was Carlos. ‘Officer Reyes.’ Owen nodded slightly at him. He saw the tears in Carlos’ eyes. ‘Would you like some time with him?’ 

‘I don’t want to impose.’ Carlos murmured with a slight hiccup at the end. 

‘No I think uh-’ Owen turned his eyes back on TK. ‘I think he’d appreciate it.’ He stood up and walked over to the door. ‘I know I would.’ He noticed more tears welling up in Carlos’ eyes. So he gave him a slight comforting pat on the shoulder before stepping out of the room. 

Carlos moved over to the bed, not sure what to do. A stray tear has made his way down his cheek, he didn’t bother to wipe it away though. Not when one of the most important people in his life is lying so still in a hospital bed. ‘God Tk... ‘ he whispered. ‘I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there.’ When he got no response, he hiccupped once, letting the tears flow freely. 

He laid his head down on the bed, next to TK’s arm. It wasn’t the most comfortable position but he just wanted to be close. He nuzzled his nose into TK’s muscled bicep, not caring if any one of the team saw him. If they did, they just let him be. 

He just wanted him to wake up. 

* * *

Owen was looking around the waiting room and he noticed one person missing. Michelle. He hadn’t seen her since they arrived in the waiting room and he was called to see TK. He decided to go search for her. Tim and Nancy told him that she has had some bad news today as well. He knew Michelle could take care of herself very well but he couldn’t help to be slightly worried. 

He found her relatively quickly in the chapel. ‘Hey?’ Owen began. Michelle turned around to see who it was, her eyes softened when she saw it was Owen. ‘I’m not interrupting am I?’

‘No, not at all.’ she reassured him. 

He nodded as he moved to sit beside Michelle. ‘So-’ he turned to look at her. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked softly. 

To say Michelle was surprised would be an understatement. His son was lying in a hospital bed with a gunshot to his chest and he was asking her if she was okay? ‘Am I?’ she asked. 

‘Yeah, your team told me that you had some not-so-good news yourself today. I’m really sorry about your sister Michelle.’ Owen said sincerely. Michelle nodded, looking down at her hands. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. 

‘You’re here checking on me?’ she asked as she turned to look back at Owen. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about Iris or anything but she didn’t want to do it  _ now.  _

‘Well, yeah.’ Owen said, looking down at his hands. 

‘You’re a good man, Owen Strand.’ Michelle said with a soft smile. She could see the worry for his son etched onto the captain’s face and yet he was still here asking about Iris. 

‘You saved my son’s life. Any hope he has of ever…’ Owen couldn’t bring himself to finish this sentence but Michelle knew what he was getting at though. ‘It’s because of you.’ he continued. 

Michelle turned to look at him better, laying a hand on his shoulder in comfort. ‘That boy is a survivor, like his dad.’ she said. 

Owen looked at her. He felt tears welling up in his eyes but he couldn’t let them fall. He needed to be strong now, for his son and the rest of his team. He grabbed Michelle’s hand which she had lowered from his shoulder seconds earlier. ‘Thank you.’ he said, looking down at their now intertwined hands.

Michelle laid her other hand on top of Owen’s, trying to comfort the man and then her phone started ringing. 

_ Sanctuary Hearts  _ it said. ‘It’s the group I volunteer for.’ she explained. 

‘I think they’ll be fine if you let this one go to voicemail.’ Owen said. He knew it wasn’t in Michelle’s nature to ignore someone in need though, he just needed a friend for now. He wasn’t actually expecting her to stay here. 

‘I won’t ever ignore a call from someone who needs me again.’ she said, giving him a soft smile. Owen smiled and nodded. 'Of course.' he said softly. 

She smiled as she stood up and got her things. ‘Keep me updated?’ she asked. 

‘You know I will. Good luck.’ he said, looking back down at his hands. 

Michelle walked over and laid her hand on his shoulder again. ‘He’ll be fine Owen, I know he will.’ 

‘Thank you Michelle.’ Owen said sincerely. She smiled and nodded as she turned and made her way to her car. 

Owen made his way back to TK’s room. He looked through the glass and saw Carlos holding his son close, rubbing his hands through his hair. He decided to just let the two be for now, going on a quest for some good coffee instead of the watery hospital stuff.

TK was in safe hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scream at me on my Tumblr @iwatchalotofseries


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TK gets out of the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, the angst is still coming.
> 
> I'm sorry this chapter took a bit longer than I anticipated. I just couldn't get it to a way I liked enough to post. I still don't like it a 100% but I do hope it's good enough. 🥺 And I sincerely didn't know where to end this one...
> 
> Also I do not know if discharge papers can be signed by the patient themselves. If not, let's pretend TK can do that for the sake of the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

‘They’re calling it a level two coma.’ Owen explained as he and Zoe walked into the room together. They’ve been seeing each other sporadically since meeting in the mall. Owen really enjoyed her company. 

‘He moans a little, chews in his sleep. He’s probably starving.’ he continued, smiling down at TK. ‘It seems like he’s gonna wake up and he just doesn’t.’

Zoe winces a little at that. ‘Owen, I’m so sorry.’ She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She didn’t have kids but she could understand how incredibly scary this must be. Owen doesn’t fully know what’s happened to TK until he wakes up. 

‘But we were lucky.’ Owen started again, sighing deeply. ‘The bullet didn’t hit his heart or his spine.’ His eyes found Zoe’s again. ‘It’s a miracle.’

Silence settled in between the two. It only lasted a couple of seconds though before Owen started speaking again. ‘It did nick a major vessel in his shoulder, under the sub...‘ Owen threw one hand up in question. The name was on the tip of his tongue but his brain just couldn’t think of it. 

‘Subclavian artery?’ Zoe asked. Owen looked up to her in surprise. ‘I had to take a couple of anatomy survey’s in grad school, so…’ she immediately explained, smiling at Owen’s confusion. 

‘Huh. Good recall.’ Owen said, giving her a small smile. ‘And then he went into hypovolemic shock and some of his organs started to shut down.’ His eyes lowered to TK on the bed.

‘Oh my god, Owen.’ Zoe said softly, feeling sorry for him. 

‘But look at him, he’s doing better.’ Owen said. ‘He’s breathing on his own. Everything seems to be functioning okay now.’ Zoe smiled and nodded. 

‘Come on, come meet my boy.’ he said to Zoe after a few seconds of silence. They walked over to the bed. ‘Oh, he looks like you.’ Zoe mused. 

‘He looks more like his mother, actually.’ Owen said. 

Zoe took in a breath. She didn’t even think of the fact that his mother might not know yet since she wasn’t here. So she asked. ‘Does she know yet?’ 

‘She’s traveling on business in China. She’s desperately trying to get a flight back, but I told her by the time that happens he’ll be awake.’ Owen explained. Zoe nodded. 

‘And the doctor’s say it could be any minute, so I’m just waiting here.’ Owen turned towards Zoe. ‘I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t realize how much I could use the companionship.’ He leaned forward to pull her into a hug. He cringed inwardly ‘And a shower. Right?’

Zoe chuckled softly. ‘Yep, yeah. You’re pretty gamey.’ She smiled at him as they pulled apart again. 

A moan from the bed broke their moment. Both of their attentions shot to the bed. ‘Dad.’ TK groaned softly, Owen immediately rushed over. 

TK arched his back into the bed, eyes shooting open. ‘Dad? Dad?! Where am I?’ TK trashed around in the bed, hands grabbing around for something to hold. ‘What happened?’ His hands finally found Owen, who had his own over TK’s heart.

‘Hey, it’s all right. It’s all right.’ Owen tried to calm TK down. He calmed down quickly, looking into his dad’s worried eyes. ‘You’re in the hospital but you’re okay.’ 

‘What happened?’ TK asked again. He didn’t remember what happened. One second he was petting Buttercup and the next he was in a hospital bed with a dull pain in his chest. 

Owen took a moment before answering, gathering his thoughts. ‘You were shot.’ he said softly. His hand unconsciously moved towards TK’s cheek, rubbing his thumb across in comfort. 

TK’s brows furrowed in confusion. What the hell? From the corner of his eyes, he saw movement. Zoe was standing a bit further from the bed. ‘Is she my doctor?’ TK asked. 

‘Who me?’ Zoe asked, shocked that the attention was on her all of a sudden. ‘Oh, uhm. No. I’m his… date.’ she sputtered out. 

‘You brought a date?’ TK asked, looking back at his dad. 

‘Well, yes. It was getting lonely without you, you know.’ Owen teased. 

TK rolled his eyes. 

‘I’m… I’m going to get a nurse.’ Zoe said, all but sprinting out of the room. 

* * *

A blonde nurse checked him over. She did some tests on his blood, oxygen levels, and more before deciding he was as okay as he could be. ‘You were lucky Mr. Strand. It seems like you’ll have a full recovery. But you got to promise me, no strenuous activities in the next few weeks, keep up with the meds and stay hydrated.’ she said.

‘Thank you and I promise.’ he said sincerely, smiling up at her. He still didn’t remember exactly what happened but before he could ponder on that any further, his dad was walking back into the room and the nurse was gone. Zoe had gone home while he was getting looked at. 

‘You okay?’ Owen asked. 

‘Yeah, she said I’ll be fine. With the promise, I’ll keep up with the meds and drink enough water.’ TK answered with a slight chuckle.

‘That’s great son. Everyone will be glad to hear that. I’ll make sure you’ll keep your promises.’ Owen said. TK groaned but didn’t argue. 

Owen smiled. ‘You’re going to be fine son.’

‘I know, I know. I’m just not looking forward to the recovery.’ TK admitted with a sigh.

‘We’ll be right with you every step of the way. You won’t be alone.’ Owen said with a determined smile.

‘Thanks, dad.’ 

Owen smiled and nodded. ‘Anything for you.’ There was still a question on his mind ever since TK woke up though. ‘Son?’ he started.

TK looked up at him, silently urging him to continue. 

‘Can you tell me what you remember?’ Owen asked softly. 

‘Ever the first responder huh?’ he chuckled. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and sucked in a deep breath. Well, the last thing I remember is being at the station that night, talking to you and petting Buttercup. And after that, it’s all black.’ 

‘That’s probably for the best.’ Owen said. 

But TK wanted, no,  _ needed _ to know what happened. Were they on a call? Was anyone else on their team hurt? Who shot him? ‘Dad, what happened? Who the hell shot me?’ he softly demanded his dad to give him an answer. 

Owen took in a deep breath. If he wasn’t going to tell him, someone else probably would. ‘We were responding to a possible cardiac event behind a locked door. Forced our way in and a seven-year-old with his grandfather’s gun shot you.’ 

Owen moved his eyes to finally look into TK’s ones. ‘He thought we were intruders.’ Owen continued softly. 

TK’s eyes turned sad. ‘Oh, that poor kid. Does anyone know how he’s holding up?’ 

‘I hear he’s been meeting with APD counseling. He comes from a good family, goes to a nice church.’ Owen pulled his shoulders up in a slight shrug. ‘It’s so like you to be sitting here with a hole in your chest and still thinking about somebody else.’ he chuckled. 

‘Right, I’m gonna go home tomorrow, but I can’t even remember it. Is that kid going to be able to forget it?’ TK asked. Both of their eyes turned downwards. It was probably something incredibly traumatic for that kid. He was only seven for god’s sake. 

‘Okay, there’s one more thing I have to ask you, but you got to promise to give it to me straight.’ TK said. 

Owen nodded. ‘Sure, anything.’

‘What’s the deal with that hot babe Zoe?’ 

Oh. My. God. ‘First of all, she is not just a hot babe. She’s the head of the psychology department at UT.’ Owen defended. 

‘Oh.’ TK smiled. 

‘And she is a really hot babe.’ Owen said. 

They both burst into laughter. ‘Yeah, she is.’ TK said. ‘So are you going to tell me how long you’ve been seeing her?’ 

‘When you tell me how long you’ve been seeing the cop.’ Owen immediately shot back. The way Carlos sat with TK when he was still unconscious, holding his hand and stroking his hair. It wasn’t just normal friends anymore. He was glad for TK though, Carlos was a really good man. 

‘Oh, god.’ TK murmured. Slapping a hand to his forehead. He liked Carlos, he really did, but he wasn’t sure what the two of them were yet. He  _ wanted  _ to be his boyfriend but he was scared. 

Scared of disappointing Carlos if he relapsed. Scared of losing him if he did something stupid. Just generally scared. 

‘I’m not… I’m not sure yet.’ TK admitted. 

‘Okay. We’ll see what happens.’ Owen winked. 

‘Ugh, dad.’ TK whined, dropping his head back down on the pillow. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about, especially with his dad. 

‘I’ll stop. For now.’ Owen smirked. 

The two settled down in a comfortable conversation. Too soon Owen was told the visiting hours were over and that he needed to go. It was nearing midnight anyway. 

‘Go on dad, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ TK said. 

Owen smiled at him. ‘Right. I need to take a shower anyway.’ he laughed, thinking back to his conversation with Zoe earlier today. 

TK pulled up one eyebrow in question. 

‘Never mind. See you tomorrow kid.’ he leaned down to press a kiss to TK’s forehead. In normal situations, TK would’ve pulled back but this was no normal situation. His dad nearly lost him and he understood Owen needed to have some kind assurance that he was still here, alive and breathing. 

TK smiled at his dad. ‘Bye, dad.’ 

‘Bye kid.’ 

* * *

Morning came pretty soon. 

TK had slept pretty well but the pain medication kind of wore off during the night. His wound was throbbing with a very dull pain. Groaning slightly, he leaned over to push the medication button next to his bed. He requested no opioids and luckily they complied. 

Moments later, the pain lessened ever so slightly. 

The same nurse that came in last night came in again with a smile. ‘Morning Mr. Strand. How are you feeling?’ 

‘The wound was throbbing a bit when I just woke up. But other than that I feel fine. I pushed the medication button earlier.’ TK said. 

‘Okay, that’s good. Well, not that you’re hurting of course but that is to be expected for at least the next couple of days, maybe even weeks. A gunshot wound isn’t nothing.’ she said. 

‘Right.’ TK smiled. 

‘I’m going to do some last tests to determine if you’re okay enough to leave.’ She moved towards him, checking his vitals and the wound. She moved his arm a bit as well. TK wasn’t even sure what she was doing but he wasn’t going to complain if he could get out of here. 

She determined that TK was okay enough to leave. ‘Well, Mr. Strand, are you ready to get out of here?’ 

‘I am, yes.’ he said as she gently pulled the electrodes off his chest and redressed the wound.

TK nearly threw his legs off the bed to bolt out of here, to be honest. He was getting tired of not being able to get out of the room and get some fresh air. The nurse smiled as she brought over the discharge papers for him to sign. ‘I’m going to miss you.’ she said with a wink. ‘You were such an easy patient.

TK laughed but winced as the movement pulled at his wound. He guessed he didn’t get any strong pain meds earlier. ‘Thank you. But I can’t wait to finally get out of here.’ 

‘I understand.’ she said. Gathering the papers, she walked out of the room. ‘Bye Mr. Strand. Let’s hope we won’t see each other anytime soon.’

And he was alone again. 

Not for long though, his dad strutted into the room about 5 minutes later. ‘Morning son.’ he smiled as he threw the duffle bag he had with him onto the bed. ‘Get dressed.’

‘Alright, alright.’ TK smiled. 

With minimal effort, thank god for that, TK was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Owen went to go find a wheelchair. ‘’Hospital policy’’ he had teased. 

Owen came back just as TK finished pulling on his slippers. There were sneakers in there as well but TK wasn’t sure how he would fare with tying the shoelaces. He thanked his dad silently for thinking ahead and putting slippers in there too. 

‘Ready?’ Owen asked.

‘Hell yes.’ TK said. He dropped himself down onto the wheelchair and soon he was being pushed towards the exit. His dad was saying something about Zoe and a date they were planning but TK wasn’t really paying attention, occasionally nodding and smiling. He just wanted to finally be outside again. 

As soon as the doors opened, he took in a big breath of fresh air. ‘Finally no antiseptic smell anymore.’ he exclaimed. Owen burst out into laughter behind him. 

Seconds later, Owen’s car came into view. He helped TK get into the passenger seat even after some complaints that he could get in a car seat by himself. ‘I wasn’t shot in the legs.’ TK smiled. 

‘Just let me do this for you.’ Owen said. 

‘Okay, sorry.’ TK threw his hands up in defeat. 

Owen smiled as he turned and walked back to the entrance to deposit the wheelchair there. He got in the car as well. 

‘Let’s go shall we?’ Owen asked.

‘Yes please.’ TK said. 

And they were finally on their way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry if it was kinda bad. I'll do my best for the next chapter to be a better one. 🙏
> 
> Find me on Tumblr! @iwatchalotofseries


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, enjoy! ❤️ This is 11,5 pages of a chapter. 
> 
> Just a FYI, if it takes longer than 5 days to update this, please check my Tumblr to see what's happening. (@iwatchalotofseries)
> 
> Debra Christofferson (AKA Sue Blevins) liked my comment on Instagram lol. Am I cool now? 🤭

He got home about two days ago. They were just filled with resting on the couch, doing practically nothing except for the necessary daily things. He had a promise to upkeep with the nurse from the hospital and he wasn’t one to back down from his promises. 

Now he was on the couch,  _ again _ , staring at the TV but not really noticing what was playing. His mind was somewhere else. The sound of the fridge opening pulled him out of those thoughts though. 

‘Here you go, son.’ Owen said as he handed TK a new water bottle from the fridge.

His eyes moved to the table in front of him, there was still a water bottle that his dad brought him like two hours ago. ‘I’m not even halfway done with this one.’ TK said, pointing to said bottle.

‘You heard the doctor. You can’t overhydrate. If your-’ Owen started. 

TK’s mind immediately went back to the same conversation they had yesterday  _ and  _ the day before. ‘Don’t tell me what color my pee should be again.’ TK said with a tired voice. 

Owen pointedly ignored him, moving over the couch and grabbing a pillow. ‘You need another one.’ 

‘I’m fine.’ TK protested.

‘No, you look uncomfortable.’ Owen stated, pulling TK up with one hand and putting the pillow behind him with the other. TK winced slightly as the movement pulled on the wound a bit. ‘The last thing you need is a stiff neck.’ Owen said as he helped TK move back into a comfortable position. 

‘I said I’m fine.’ TK rolled his eyes. ‘Do you really plan to hover over me like a mother hen for the next three weeks?’ he asked. 

‘They said you might heal up in ten days but yeah.’ Owen nodded as he sat down on the table. ‘I talked to Deputy Chief Radford. He said to take as much time at home as I need.’ 

‘Dad, that’s crazy. You should get back to work.’ TK said. It wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate his dad’s help but honestly, he felt fine. It hurts, yes, but that is to be expected with a gunshot wound. He could move around, do the stuff he’s supposed to do, so he really didn’t need his dad to be here. 

‘What are you going to do about food?’ Owen asked.

‘You stock the fridge and I have a delivery app on my phone. I’ll be okay, I promise.’ TK assured his dad.

Owen sighed. ‘Are you sure?’ 

‘I’m sure. You could probably still make the next shift.’ TK said.

‘Alright. I’ll go get changed.’ Owen said hesitantly as if expecting TK to come around and ask him to stay. 

Tk didn’t. 

Owen turned around, looking his son straight in the eyes. ‘Listen TK, you’ll be back in no time. Two weeks or less.’ he said with a smile. Owen turned and went and collected his stuff for the shift. 

‘Yeah, we’ll see.’ TK sighed but Owen didn’t hear him though. 

* * *

It was the next day. 

Owen has been gone for about thirty minutes since he needed to work. TK was situated on the couch again, with enough water to last him a lifetime. Being alone gave him enough opportunity to get lost in his thoughts though and he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

He hasn’t told his dad yet about his doubts about being a firefighter. Well, he hasn’t told anyone for that matter, but that wasn’t the point. He just wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue with his job. 

Getting shot has been a real wake up call for getting to that conclusion. 

He followed in his dad’s footsteps of being a first responder. His dad was seen as a hero, especially after 9/11. Owen had lost his whole crew that day but he continued to give to the community nevertheless, TK always had admired him for that. 

But how was he supposed to be a good first responder when he couldn’t even take care of himself properly. He was a damn opioid addict for god’s sake. He was scared of relapsing, scared of hurting his dad and the team, and most scared of hurting Carlos. 

He wasn’t even sure what the two of them were yet. But it sure as hell felt like  _ something. _

Carlos has been such a calm and reassuring presence at his side. According to his dad, he even came to visit while he was still in a coma in the hospital. That had to mean something right? He sure hoped so but he’ll see where time brings them. 

He contemplated calling Carlos for a moment. Then he remembered he was probably on shift and he didn’t want to bother the man. 

He got his phone from the armrest next to him and started scrolling through Instagram mindlessly. Seeing everyone so incredibly happy and having wonderful lives made him feel jealous. Why did he have to be such a mess? He’d ruined every good thing he had come across. First with Alex and now with the job. 

He switched to scroll through his contacts, finger hovering over his dad’s for a moment but eventually deciding against it. Owen was probably busy at work as well. 

That’s what it was now. Everyone he knew having normal, busy lives and he was just stuck on the couch doing nothing. He felt the pressure of tears behind his eyes. No, he couldn’t do this. 

Two stray tears made their way down his cheeks. TK angrily swiped them away before more were going to appear. Standing up, he threw his jacket on and tied on his shoes, deciding the best idea now would be getting some fresh air before he really spiraled. 

He had his AirPods in for some music while he walked. Music always helped him to get his thoughts of the bad stuff so he hoped it would help again now. 

It was a spur of the moment decision, really, whipping his phone out and emailing Zoe on her .edu email nonetheless. He didn’t have her number so he didn’t have many other choices though. He regretted it as soon as he pressed  _ send _ but there was no going back now. 

She was a psychologist, so she would have some advice right?  _ Right? _

He walked around the block for another ten minutes before deciding to turn back. The wound of his chest started to pull a bit now so he may need some painkillers soon or at least ibuprofen. 

Opening the door, he heard the notification sound coming from his phone. His brows furrowed in confusion, wondering who it was. 

And then he saw it. 

Zoe had responded, of course, she would. He had emailed her on her school email on a weekday, so she would regularly check it. She would be coming by when her lectures ended this afternoon. 

He was glad that his dad was on shift until late in the evening so he didn’t have to explain this. Although he would probably hear it from Zoe anyway.

* * *

TK was nervously fidgeting with his hands when the bell rang. He has been switching between sitting on the couch and walking through the house while he was waiting for her. He was very nervous for some reason. He hoped it would fade once she got here. 

‘Here goes nothing.’ he softly murmured to himself before swinging the door open. 

‘Hi.’ he greeted her with a tight smile. 

Zoe stood cross-armed on the porch. ‘Hey.’ she said.

‘Thanks for coming by. Please, come in.’ TK opened the door further to allow her to come into the house.

‘Yeah, don’t mention it. I actually teach a grad seminar down the road.’ Zoe smiled at TK. ‘I really love this whole new look you got going, without all the tubes coming out of your face.’ she gestured wildly around his body. 

TK’s eyes widened a fraction. ‘Oh.’ he murmured. 

Zoe was quick to defend herself. ‘That was a joke. I do that. I joke.’

‘Oh, right. Well, good one.’ TK smiled shyly, not really sure how to respond to the joke. ‘Uh, so you’re a psychology professor. That must be pretty fascinating, diving deep into people’s heads, figuring out what motivates them.’ The duo moved to continue their conversation in the kitchen.

Zoe furrowed her brows, already sensing that  _ something  _ was going on. ‘I dig it, yeah.’ she threaded carefully. 

‘You know, firefighting is the complete opposite, always something new and unexpecting. We never get to, you know, really drill down on anything.’ TK stopped his rambles before they got any worse. ‘Can I get you an iced tea?’ 

‘Sure, yeah, but I have to admit no one has ever reached out through my .edu mail for iced tea before.’ Zoe said. 

TK sighed. ‘Right. Uhm… So... You and my dad…’ he started.

Zoe just stared at him, silently encouraging him to continue. When he didn’t, she was confused. ‘Sorry was that a question?’ 

‘You guys are good, right?’ TK asked.

‘We’re having fun.’ Zoe said with a slight shake of her head.

‘But do you think it could be something that turns into  _ something _ ?’ TK continued with his weird questions. He knew it wasn’t going anywhere but he just couldn’t stop himself. 

‘What’s going on here?’ Zoe asked, clearly still confused. 

‘I just want my dad to be happy in case, for some reason, I’m ever... not around.’ he said, emphasizing his point by jamming his finger into the kitchen island that was in between them. 

‘Are you planning on going into another coma?’ Zoe asked.

‘No, no.’ TK shook his head. ‘To be fair, this is the second time this year that I’ve almost died. That’s a long story.’ he said, not really willing to go into any details about his overdose. 

‘What’s going on?’ Zoe asked again, this time leaning over the kitchen island. She knew something was bothering TK but she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly and he wasn’t telling her. If she needed to pull it out of him, she would. They didn’t know each other very long or have seen each other often, but she did like TK. He was a nice, good kid. 

‘What do you mean?’ TK asked tentatively. He knew he was busted though. 

Zoe chuckled. ‘Why am I here?’ she asked, blinking up at TK.

‘Honestly? I’m not sure. I feel like I really need to talk to somebody and well, you’re a psychologist. So-’ TK said as if it explained everything. 

And there it was. ‘I-’ she started. ‘I’m a professor of psychology with a focus on human sexuality.’

Realization settled in TK’s stomach, along with a sprinkle of regret. ‘Oh.’ 

‘But I’m also a really good listener.’ Zoe tried to assure him. 

‘Well, thank you. I appreciate any professional advice.’ TK said. 

‘Okay so, who do you normally talk to about these things?’ Zoe asked. 

‘Well, I guess there is my boyfriend. Who I don’t even know is my boyfriend boyfriend.’ TK admitted. It felt weird doing that to someone who was still practically a stranger to him. But on the other hand, it was also kind of nice. ‘It’s all kind of new.’ 

‘Uh-’ Zoe started. ‘Not a professional diagnosis but I think I see what’s happening here.’

That surprised TK. ‘You do?’ What’s uhm-, what’s happening?

‘Well it’s common when you have a near death experience, or two-’ Zoe said, TK nodded. ‘-you, uhm, you question your life choices.’ 

‘But all I’ve ever wanted was to be a firefighter, ever since I was a kid.’ TK admitted. 

‘I didn’t mention that, actually. But interesting you did.’ Zoe said. TK just blinked at her. Was that something good? Or something bad? All TK knew growing up was his dad being a firefighter so it felt natural to him that he was going to be one as well. 

Zoe was right though, it was interesting that the first thing he mentioned was about being a firefighter. It was buried somewhere deep within him. He always got a rush when he was helping people on calls and it felt good to give back to the community. But still, he felt like such a fragile human being  _ especially  _ after the year he had. 

‘Oh.’ he murmured. Zoe just smiled at him. ‘Thank you.’ 

‘You’re acting I just gave you the best life advice you ever got.’ Zoe chuckled. ‘But I’m sorry, I need to go home to grade some papers.’ She moved over to the door again, TK right behind her. 

‘Right. Sorry for this impromptu, probably weird, meeting.’ TK said shyly. 

‘Oh, no. That’s fine. Don’t worry about it.’ she waved her hands in dismissal. ‘I’ll see you later?’ 

‘Yeah, maybe.’ TK said. ‘Bye, thanks again!’ he said to her retreating back. 

She threw a smile over her shoulder before getting in her car and driving off. TK closed the door softly and went over to the couch, dropping down onto it. He dropped his head in his hands. This really was quite the awkward meeting. Nonetheless, he was glad she came. 

He really needed to talk to his dad, especially after what Zoe said to him. He wanted to know how Owen saw all of this. 

His stomach rumbling halted his plans though. He looked at the clock on the wall, it was dinner time already. Jesus, this day has gone by quickly. 

He threw together a simple salad with some chicken that was left in the fridge. Owen had kept true to stocking the fridge full, ever so thoughtful. It made TK smile. 

All but shoving the salad down, he grabbed a sweater and pulled it over his head. made his way over to the car, dead set on talking to his dad as soon as possible. He hoped they weren’t on a call when he arrived, it would make him even more nervous if he needed to wait.

* * *

TK pulled the car into the parking lot. He wasn’t even sure he should be driving yet but his shoulder felt okay enough. He made his way into the station, immediately noticing the trucks were still here which meant they weren’t out on a call. He smiled slightly at his dad’s voice making its way to him. He stopped for a moment, just soaking in the scene he couldn’t even properly see yet. 

‘You guys are in for a treat tonight.’ Owen said to the team. They were getting ready to eat dinner after a couple of long calls today. He put another bowl with food next to the ones already set up. 

Judd looked on skeptically. ‘In what kind of demented universe is quinoa a treat?’ 

‘I think it’s farro actually’ Mateo corrected him while Paul just laughed. 

‘Come on, it’s chock full of proteins, antioxidants, and vitamins. You’re gonna love it.’ Owen said as he put  _ another  _ bowl on the counter. 

‘Vitamins, yum.’ Paul teased.

‘Don’t knock it until you try it, you bunch of ingrates.’ Marjan defended Owen. He gave her an appreciative smile in return. 

TK chose this moment to come out from behind the truck. Buttercup was the first to notice him, immediately getting up and waddling over to him. His whining alerted the rest of the team as well, all of their heads whipped to wherever Buttercup was going. That’s when they noticed TK. 

‘Yo!’ Paul greeted.

‘Hey.’ Marjan joined him. 

They all left the food on the counter to make their way over to him. ‘Well, if it isn’t sleeping beauty.’ Marjan teased. 

‘Hi.’ Tk greeted softly, holding his fist out for a fist-bump. Marjan met it with a smile. 

‘My man.’ Paul came over to give him a hand. ‘Good to see you, dude.’ TK smiled at him shyly. 

‘Good to see you brother.’ Judd said from the back of the group. TK smiled as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. 

Mateo smiled and shrugged, going over to hug TK. But in his excitement of seeing him, Mateo kind of forgot about the whole injured shoulder. 

TK winced as Mateo pulled right back. ‘I’m so sorry.’ 

‘Shoulder.’ TK said as he scrunched his face up in pain. Owen looked on with sympathetic eyes. He wasn’t sure why TK came to the station while he needed to rest. 

‘Son, are you sure you should be on your feet?’ he asked. 

TK’s eyes snapped onto his. ‘Yeah. Can we talk?’ he asked softly, pointing up towards Owen’s office. 

‘Yeah, sure.’ 

With varying degrees of slaps on his back and fist bumps, he and Owen made their way over to his office upstairs. 

Marjan turned to Buttercup. She knew TK was his favorite but he couldn’t forget about his favorite aunt now, could he? ‘Don’t forget about me.’ she murmured as she ran her fingers through his long fur. The rest just rolled their eyes and made their way back over to the food. Their stomachs were rumbling. 

* * *

‘How are you doing? Are you okay? Is everything all right?’ Owen asked as soon as they were out of earshot from the rest of the team. 

‘I’m fine.’ TK sighed. 

‘TK, I know your everything-is-fine face and that is not it.’ Owen stated. 

TK shot an angry look at his dad over his shoulder. He made his way over to his dad’s old helmet from New York. ‘I need to ask you a question.’ he said, still looking at the helmet. 

‘Sure.’ Owen said. 

‘Why’d you decide to be a firefighter?’ TK asked, now turning to look at his dad. 

Owen’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Why? Cause the Yankees wouldn’t take me and who wants to play for the Mets?’ he joked. 

‘Dad, I’m serious.’ TK said. ‘Did you always know that this is what you wanted to do?’ 

‘Not always.’ Owen shook his head. ‘I was going to be a lawyer.’

‘Really?’ TK asked, surprised. ‘Why didn’t I know this?’ 

‘Probably because I dropped out of law school in the second year, joined the fire academy, and married your mom.’ Owen said as he moved over to the windows to check on the rest of the team. TK moved from behind the desk as well. ‘One lawyer in the house was  _ plenty. _ ’ Owen continued. 

‘So what changed your mind?’ TK asked as he dropped in a chair at the desk with a grunt. 

‘Well, the summer before I dropped out I had a job in East Hampton as a lifeguard.’ Owen said. 

‘For the chicks.’ TK teased. 

‘For the chicks.’ Owen confirmed with a smile.

‘But mostly I sat in the tower and got very bronze. Never got any chance to even get in the water except one time.’ Owen sat down in his office chair. ‘There was this little girl. She was probably seven or eight. And she was out with her mother, and they’d gone beyond the buoys. And before I had the chance to blow my whistle they got caught in the riptide.’ 

TK looked at his dad with sad eyes. He never told him any of this. But TK didn’t dare to interrupt him. 

‘They both went under. Mom came up, the little girl didn’t. And I don’t remember jumping in. I was just there. And uhm… I got them both back to the beach. The little girl was not breathing. She was turning blue. And my several hours of training I thought I’d slept through kicked in. CPR, mouth-to-mouth, and it worked.’ 

TK nodded with a slight smile, proud of his dad that he saved the girl. 

‘I could feel myself breathing life into this tiny, little body. And when she coughed up seawater and started breathing on her own, it was the most satisfying moment of my life up to that point. And I dropped out of law school three months later.’ Owen finished. 

‘You’re an addict, just like me.’ TK said. ‘You are chasing that first high.’ 

‘Well, I think it’s more than that. I think I realized that being of service is a way to give my life some meaning.’ Owen said softly.

‘Yeah, I can see that.’ TK said. ‘And all I ever wanted was to be a firefighter for as long as I can remember. I didn’t plan anything else. I didn’t consider anything else. I knew exactly what I wanted.’ 

Owen looked at TK with a smile. 

‘At least I thought I did.’ 

And Owen’s smile dropped. So this is what was bothering TK the past few days. He knew something was up with his son but he had waited until TK came to him. And now he did. 

‘Lately, I’ve been wondering if maybe what I really wanted was a father.’ TK admitted softly. 

‘TK…’ Owen started.

‘Dad, you left when I was seven.’

‘TK, I didn’t leave you.’ 

‘Yeah, you did.’ TK felt anger bubbling up inside of him. But he wasn't sure who it was aimed at. ‘You left  _ our  _ family. That firehouse was your family. That’s the family you chose.’ 

Ouch. Owen felt a pang of hurt inside his heart. ‘Do you want me to apologize for the choices I made?’ he asked tentatively. 

But TK shook his head. ‘No, no.’

‘343 firefighters lost their lives that day. 14 of them were from my house.’ Owen said. 

TK’s eyes turned sad. ‘I don’t know what I’m trying to say, dad.’

Owen was. ‘What you’re saying is that you’re not sure if you want to come back.’ 

His dad really knew him through and through didn’t he. ‘I’m saying I don’t know if I  _ can _ come back. I don’t know if this is really who I am.’ TK said. 

Owen shrugged slightly. ‘That’s not a question I can help you answer.’ 

‘I know.’ TK nearly whined, rubbing his forehead in frustration. 

Owen stood up from the chair to look out of the windows again. ‘Well, you’re right about one thing. The firehouse is my family and the 126 is my adopted family. But you… are my kid.’ he turned back to look at TK. ‘And whatever you choose, I’m going to be right by your side.’ 

TK felt a smile creeping up again. ‘Well, good, because there’s something I want you to do with me.’ 

* * *

When they were standing outside of the house, TK felt nervousness creeping upon him. He has been on the phone with James to set up this meeting at their home. He couldn’t just show up unannounced. 

And then the door opened, showing the dad of the kid who shot him. 

Owen was the first to speak. ‘I’m Owen, his dad.’ he said as he shook his hand, pointing at TK with his free hand.

‘James.’ the man smiled. Owen and TK made their way into the house as James closed the door behind them.

‘Thank you for seeing us. I can only imagine what your family’s been going through.’ Owen said.

‘Nothing compared to what yours has been dealing with, Captain.’ James said. 

They made their way over to a closed door. TK could only guess it was the kid’s room. 

‘I can’t tell you how sorry we are. I mean Colt has just been sick over it. You’ve been in our prayers.’ James said. 

‘Thank you, that means a lot.’ TK said genuinely. Then he turned to open the door. 

Colt was sitting at a round table. ‘’Right, living room then’.’ TK thought to himself. 

‘Colt, Mr. Strand is here to see you.’ The blonde kid turned to look at him. 

‘Hey Colt, how are you, buddy?’ TK asked. But Colt turned his eyes back onto the Lego’s in front of him. TK moved into the living room. 

‘Hey, Colt, do you mind if I join you?’ When he got no answer, he just decided to sit down. ‘I used to love Lego’s, too. What are you building over there?’ 

And that got an answer out of him. ‘Police car.’ Colt murmured, still not looking at TK. 

‘Very cool. You like cops?’ TK asked with a smile. 

Colt shrugged. ‘They help people.’

‘Yes, they do.’ TK said, nodding.

Colt continued with the car in front of him but he was struggling. TK noticed though. ‘I think that’s a three bump one. I think you need a four bump.’ he said, eyes roaming around the table in search of the right piece. ‘Here, try this one.’ 

The kid took it from his hands and tried it. It fit. ‘Thanks.’ Colt murmured. 

TK decided it was time to cut to the chase. ‘Colt, do you know who I am?’ 

‘I shot you.’ 

‘Yeah, you did.’ TK confirmed softly. ‘But you know what? I’m here and I’m okay. And I just want to make sure you’re okay too.’ he said. 

‘So you’re not mad at me?’ Colt asked. 

‘No, not at all. I know it was an accident.’ Colt finally looked up at him, which encouraged TK even more to continue. ‘Besides, you were protecting your family, which is super brave.’

‘Sorry I shot you.’ Colt said. 

‘I know you are.’ TK answered. 

‘I won’t do it again.’ 

TK chuckled. ‘Okay. Deal. Deal?’ he held his hand out to Colt. The kid smiled as he took it. 

Noticing eyes on him, TK turned to look at his dad who was still in the doorway. Owen was looking on with a proud smile so TK smiled right back at him. 

‘Thank you for talking to my kiddo.’ TK said as he stood up again. Colt just smiled up at him. ‘See you later.’ TK smiled. 

‘Bye, Mr. Strand.’ Colt said. 

‘Please, call me TK. This old man is called Mr. Strand.’ TK said as he poked his dad’s shoulder. 

‘Oi, who are you calling old? You want to walk home?’ Owen threatened teasingly. He never would let TK walk. Both men burst out in laughter. 

‘Thank you for having us.’ TK turned to the dad. He felt loads better already after talking to the kid, so that was very good. 

‘No problem. I hope you’re having a speedy recovery.’ James’ eyes flicked briefly to the bandage sticking out above his shirt. 

‘I am sir, thank you.’ TK smiled. His dad clapped him on the shoulder proudly. 

‘Come on, I’ll walk you out.’ the trio made their way over to the door again. 

‘Bye.’ 

‘Goodbye.’ James smiled. 

As soon as the door was closed, TK turned to his dad. ‘Thank you for coming. I don’t think I realized how much I needed that.’ 

‘You know, in 26 years, I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of you.’ Owen turned to look at him as well. ‘You’re going to make a great dad someday.’

‘And so will you.’ TK smiled as he laid a hand on Owen’s shoulder. 

Owen just shook his head and laughed. 

‘Come on, let’s go home son.’ he said. TK nodded and smiled. 

‘Yes please.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks! Leave comments/kudo's if you want! ❤️


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This kind of is a filler chapter, sorry. I'm leaving the solar storm stuff for the next chapter otherwise it would be way too long. 
> 
> Anways, enjoy! ❤️

After getting home, the rest of the day was mainly spent on the couch. Well, that was until Owen decided it was time for a walk. ‘Come on, it’s healthy and we’ll both get some fresh air.’ he had said. TK rolled his eyes and emitted a small groan but complied nonetheless, pulling on his shoes and following Owen outside. He knew his dad was up to something and he guessed he’d figure it out sooner rather than later. 

The first part of the walk was spent in a comfortable silence between the two men. TK occasionally sent a curious look his father’s way but Owen’s eyes were boring into the concrete in front of them while they walked. It seemed like he was too far gone in his own thoughts. TK internally shrugged as his eyes moved to the street in front of him again. 

It was approximately five minutes later that Owen finally broke the silence. 

‘I’m proud of you son.’ he said. 

TK's brows furrowed in confusion. His dad was always one to praise people whenever they did something good, it’s part of what makes him such a likable man. But TK honestly couldn’t think of anything special he had done over the past couple of days to deserve this. 

Owen seemed to notice his confusion and chuckled softly. ‘You’ve been listening to the doctors,  _ and me _ , and taking the rest you need to heal. A couple of years ago you would’ve already driven yourself up the wall saying you would want to come back to work. You’ve grown into such a beautiful man and for that,  _ I am proud of you _ .’ 

TK had expected something from this walk. But not such a heartfelt message. He smiled shyly and muttered a quiet thank you. Owen smiled and slapped him softly on his shoulder. 

Then they fell into the same comfortable silence from earlier, continuing their walk through the neighborhood. 

His dad was right. A couple of years ago he certainly would have been too eager to come back to work. But then again, he was also eager to be a firefighter. Now, he wasn’t so sure about that. 

As if Owen could read his mind, he broke the silence once again. ‘Have you thought about what you want to do yet?’ he asked softly. 

TK huffed out a breath. ‘Not yet. I’m still not too sure about anything at this moment.’ 

Owen nodded. ‘Okay, take your time. Remember I’ll be here every step of the way, no matter what you decide to do.’ 

‘I know dad, thank you.’ TK said sincerely. He shoved his hands in his pocket and they both trotted along the road. 

Soon, they turned into their street again and walked into their home. TK toed his shoes off and threw his jacket on the coat rack while Owen walked straight into the kitchen to get a bottle of water for TK. 

‘Sit’ Owen ordered, all but pushing him down onto the couch. TK’s brows shot up into his hairline as he threw his hands up in surrender. ‘Yes, Captain.’ he teased with a smirk. Owen didn’t react as he kept fuzzing over him, making sure he was comfortable with two pillows behind his back. 

‘I’m fine dad.’ TK complained. 

‘Nuh-uh.’ Owen tutted at him. ‘You’re still on medical leave and you still need to heal.’

‘Right back to the mother-henning huh?’ TK chuckled. 

‘Maybe.’ Owen smirked. He sat down on the table in front of him again, mirroring his actions from a couple of days ago when TK just came home from the hospital. ‘Are you in pain?’ 

TK rolled his eyes at him. ‘No, I promise I’m fine.’ 

‘If you say so.’ Owen said, throwing his hands up. He stood up and walked back into the kitchen. It was time to start on dinner and honestly, they both were starting to get very hungry. 

He threw together a relatively quick meal which was a quinoa salad with tofu. TK hummed in delight as he took the first bite. Owen smiled at him from the chair he sank in to eat minutes earlier. ‘It’s good?’ he asked. 

TK nodded happily. ‘Hell yeah.’ 

‘Thanks, son.’ Owen said as he began on his own plate. If he could say so himself, it was a damn delicious meal. 

* * *

It was later at night and both men had gone to bed. Owen had a shift early the next morning and TK, well TK didn’t have anything to do, to be honest. 

He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and his fingers hovered over Carlos’ contact. He debated calling him, it wasn’t  _ that  _ late yet. He still decided against it though, not wanting to bother the other man. 

He still shot him a quick text if he wanted to meet up tomorrow. TK knew Carlos didn’t have a shift until way after lunch tomorrow so who knew. 

It was a couple of minutes that he heard his phone buzz, indicating Carlos had answered. 

_ ‘Sure, where do you want to meet?’  _ the text said. 

_ ‘Can we go for boba?’  _ TK sent back, smirking to himself.

_ ‘You and your boba, I swear to god. But fine.’  _ Carlos answered.

_ ‘I knew you’d cave. Noon sound okay?’  _ TK send back. 

_ ‘Sure.’  _ Carlos asked with a smiling emoji.

_ ‘Can you pick me up? I still don’t trust myself behind the wheel 100%...’  _ TK send. 

_ ‘Of course!’  _ Carlos answered. 

_ ‘Thanks. See you tomorrow!’  _ TK said.

_ ‘See you tomorrow!’  _ Carlos sent with a winking emoji. 

It was quite an awkward conversation but TK smiled as he deposited his phone back on the nightstand. 

He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on between him and Carlos and he knew for a fact Carlos had noticed that as well. He had asked TK the other day while on the phone but luckily, or unluckily, the alarm went off so he needed to go. He felt bad leaving Carlos hanging like that though. 

Carlos deserved an answer but he just wasn’t sure if he could give one yet. 

Nonetheless, TK fell asleep with a tiny smile, looking forward to meeting up with Carlos the next morning. 

* * *

The next day came sooner than he thought though and he felt himself getting nervous. Owen had left already way before he woke up so there was no one to distract him. 

He walked into the kitchen and put together a simple breakfast. It was just a simple sandwich with vegan cheese on it. He ate it rather quickly. 

He still had two hours or so before he and Carlos would meet, so he decided to hop into the shower. He put on his music real loud since there was no one in the house anyway. Singing loudly with a Kings of Leon song, he made quick work of cleaning himself. 

And then came the hardest part, what was he going to wear? 

He stood in front of his closet, looking at all of the clothes he had in there. He really had a lot, Jesus Christ. He made a quick mental note to maybe donate some of it soon to a charity or something. There were people in this country who needed them more than he did. But that was something for later, right now he needed to decide what he wanted to wear. 

He pulled out a maroon blouse that he had tucked away in the back of the closet. He didn’t wear it very often but he did like it. Looking outside and seeing the sun shining full force made him decide against it though since it would be too warm.

Then he pulled out a simple blue T-shirt, or was this too casual? He really didn’t know anymore. Spending so much time on an outfit for a simple boba tea meet-up should mean something right? The thought quickly left his mind though, back to focussing on the task at hand. 

And then his eye got pulled to a short-sleeved, cream blouse with vertical stripes. Yes.  _ Perfect.  _ Not too casual, not too dressed up, it was the perfect thing. He pulled out his favorite jeans and his white sneakers to go with it. 

He pulled the outfit on and went to do his hair in the bathroom. 

When he checked his watch, he had about thirty minutes left. Groaning internally he debated what he should do. Waiting was boring and his nerves were growing, which wasn’t a good combination. It meant he couldn’t sit still, at least not until Carlos would be here. 

As if Carlos could read his mind, he heard his car pull up.

TK opened the door for him with a smile. ‘You’re early.’ 

Carlos smiled right back at him. ‘I know, sorry. I couldn’t sit around doing nothing anymore.’ 

‘You’re not the only one.’ TK admitted with a shy smile. 

‘Are you ready to go?’ Carlos asked. 

TK grabbed his wallet and keys before nodding at him. ‘Ready when you are.’ he winked. 

Carlos chuckled before turning and walking back to the car, TK got in on the passenger side. Carlos started to tell a story he experienced at work two days ago. Some dude was harassing other people at a supermarket. According to Carlos, his pupils were blown wide as hell, which probably meant they were on something. 

TK laughed and nodded along to the story, not noticing when Carlos had stopped talking. 

‘We’re here.’ Carlos said, pulling TK out of his thoughts. He was standing next to the passenger door, holding it open for him, ever the gentleman. 

‘Oh.’ was the only thing that came out of his mouth. ‘Sorry.’ 

Carlos gave him a sad smile and shook his head. ‘No worries.’ 

They made their way to the boba shop and ordered their teas. ‘Can I have a mango milk tea with lychee pearls? What do you want TK?’ Carlos turned to him.

‘Can I have a strawberry milk tea with blueberry pearls?’ TK asked the employee. 

‘Of course, coming right up.’ the lady behind the counter said. They waited for their drinks in silence. Not even five minutes later, they both had their drinks and were seated at a table outside. A waitress would come outside with the receipt soon. 

TK wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about though. His nerves made him start to ramble and soon he went through several topics already. His latest was the very drink he was sipping on, boba tea. 

‘Boba gets a bad rep because it basically has no nutritional value, but most people just don’t appreciate the fact that it’s fun to drink. I mean, yeah, the tapioca’s sort of like blobs of snot, but it’s delicious blobs of snot.’ He smirked at Carlos as he chewed on the straw. 

Carlos stayed silent though, his eyes moving to the other side of the street. 

‘What?’ TK asked. 

‘You filibustered a solid six minutes on boba.’ Carlos said which made TK chuckle. He knew he rambled when he was nervous but when it happened he just couldn’t stop himself sometimes. 

But Carlos continued. ‘Before that, it was Billie Eilish, the Cowboy’s running game, and how underrated the film Benjamin button was.’

‘Well, Brad is magic. Even as a baby, so…’ TK stated. 

‘How long are you going to avoid talking about it, TK?’ Carlos asked with a soft sigh. 

‘What?’ TK’s brows furrowed in confusion. 

‘The elephant in the juice bar.’ Carlos said. 

And there it was. TK knew it was going to happen sooner or later. ‘Us?’ he sighed. 

Carlos took a deep breath, seemingly gathering the courage to say something. ‘When I saw you in that hospital bed, not knowing if you’d ever wake up again, I had all these feelings. Strong feelings. Which is crazy because I still barely know you.’ 

TK looked down at the drink in front of him, not really having the courage to look Carlos in the eye right now. Carlos tried though, seeking TK’s eyes as he started again. 

‘I’m just confused.’ Carlos confessed. ‘What are we? Are we even  _ we _ ?’ 

That made TK look back up at him again. ‘Honestly, I have no idea, Carlos.’

‘I have no idea.’ Carlos repeated with a sad tone. ‘Yeah, that’s it.’ He looked away from TK, feeling a pang of sadness shot through his heart. He wanted  _ something _ . TK was the best thing to happen to him in the past year. But if TK didn’t want it, he could hardly force him to, could he? But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. 

TK noticed the sad look on Carlos' face. ‘Look, hey, you think you're confused? I don’t even know who I am anymore, all right? I don’t know if this is the life I want or if I’m even in the right career or in the right  _ state _ . I feel like I need to figure that out first before I can-’ TK said.

‘You can figure this out?’ Carlos interrupted. ‘I got it.’ 

‘I’m sorry, I sound like such a narcissistic dick right now.’ TK sighed. 

‘No-’ Carlos started but the waitress came with the receipt and the handheld card reader. ‘Thank you.’ she said. Carlos nodded up at her. 

‘You sound pretty reasonable, actually.’ he said to TK as the waitress went inside again. He knew something was up with TK the past few days, if not week. But he hasn’t seen him in person since he got out of the hospital. And every time he tried to call or ask via text, TK would switch subjects immediately. At least now he knew what the hell was going on with him. 

He pushed his feelings down for now though as he took his card from his wallet and was about to pay before TK put his hand on the reader. 

‘At least let me get it.’ he nearly begged. 

‘No.’ Carlos said.

‘Let me get it.’ TK tried again.

‘No.’ Carlos bickered. ‘From what you’ve said you’re about to be unemployed, so…’ 

‘I feel like you're bummed.’ TK said to him. 

‘No, I’m good. If it’s not meant to be it’s not meant to be. Not like it’s the end of the world.’ Carlos said, even though he felt the opposite on the inside. But TK didn’t need to know that, at least not now. 

Sparks flew from the card reader which made Carlos pull back his hand immediately. 

‘Ow, the hell?’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, leave comments or kudo's if you want! ❤️
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @iwatchalotofseries!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI, I'm back! 
> 
> I was very busy with school the past week. And will be again for two weeks straight starting on Monday (just a fair warning beforehand). So if there's a delay, it will be put on my Tumblr again! 
> 
> Enjoy this slightly shorter chapter! ❤️

‘You okay?’ TK immediately asked. 

Carlos nodded. ‘Yeah.’

And then everywhere around the street things started to go crazy. From car alarms going off to phone’s not working. Every single electric thing seemed to go haywire. 

From behind Carlos, an electric scooter suddenly drove into the street without anyone controlling it, nearly hitting a car in the process. The car slammed on the brakes before anything worse could happen.

TK and Carlos shot up from their seats, their inner first responder coming out. They didn’t even think about it. Their first destination was the car in front of them. 

‘Hey, you okay?’ TK asked the man behind the wheel. The man nodded in affirmation. 

‘Help, this thing won’t stop.’ came a scream from the other side of the street. Both of their attention was pulled to the source of the yell. The man slammed into a car hood seconds later. 

‘Oh my god.’ TK whispered softly as he looked upon the chaos that seemed to have erupted in what felt like the last five seconds. He immediately moved towards the man, not noticing a car coming from the other side of the street. 

‘Hey, hey, hey.’ Carlos yelled before pulling TK back by his arm. ‘Hey, you alright?’ TK asked the man. 

‘Yeah.’ the man said, looking slightly disheveled. TK’s attention turned back to the still erupting chaos on the street. 

Carlos’ voice pulled TK’s attention to the man next to him. ‘Why are those lights green?’ 

‘What?’ TK asked, brows furrowed in confusion. 

‘Those lights are green.’ Carlos said again, pointing towards the traffic lights. 

And sure enough, every light seemed green, from every direction. This is just asking for an accident, TK thought. 

He spoke too soon. 

All of a sudden, a green trash truck slammed into a blue bus. 

‘Go over there. Over there.’ Carlos pushed him towards the bus, knowing all too well TK was certified as a paramedic. 

More and more people crowded into the street. 

‘Woah, woah, go back to the sidewalk.’ Carlos yelled. ‘Police, stay on the sidewalk.’ The people on the streets slowly made their way onto the sidewalk again, thank god. He moved over to stop an oncoming car. 

‘Hey, you good?’ TK asked the people coming out of the bus. 

‘I think we’re all okay, but the driver… she’s stuck.’ 

TK started to make his way over to the bus. More people came out of the bus. None of them seemed too injured apart from some cuts and bruises, which was good. 

‘Grab my arm.’ he said to a man seemingly struggling a bit more than the other. But once he was out of the bus, he seemed okay enough and he was the last of the passengers. 

‘Hey, I’m coming for you.’ TK yelled to the driver. He noticed quickly that the bus had hit a fire hydrant and water was shooting into the bus, slowly flooding it. 

He needed to hurry. 

‘Everybody get out okay?’ she asked. 

‘Yeah, everybody’s fine.’ TK assured. She seemed stuck under some kind of beam and with the slowly flooding water, that wasn’t a good place to be. 

‘What in the devil is going on?’ she questioned. 

TK didn’t know. Everything was normal one second and the other it seemed like chaos was everywhere. So he chose to ignore that question, at least for now. 

‘What’s your name ma’am?’ TK asked. 

‘Ellen.’ she answered. 

‘Ellen, okay. I’m TK.’ he said as he felt her pulse. It seemed slightly fast, but nothing too dangerous yet. She seemed to have a bit of trouble breathing though, the beam must’ve hit her right in the chest. 

‘I’m here to get you out alright?’ he tried to assure Ellen. TK moved away slightly to try and move the beam. Of course, it didn’t budge. Not even slightly.

Damn it.

‘My back’s wet. It’s not blood, is it?’ Ellen asked him. 

TK was still pulling on the beams, trying to get  _ something  _ to move. But nothing was budging. ‘No, it’s just some water.’ he groaned out as he gave another pull. ‘You took out a hydrant when you flipped.’ 

‘Ellen, are you in a lot of pain?’ TK asked.

‘Fair amount.’ she admitted. ‘I’m pretty sure both of my legs are busted up.’ 

And that worried TK. ‘Can you wiggle your toes for me?’ he asked as he leaned over. She tried and she actually did. It wasn’t much but any movement was good movement. 

‘Alright good, I don’t think there’s any spinal damage.’ he moved back to try and move the beams again. 

‘Are you a medical student?’ Ellen asked. 

‘No I’m a-’ he started, before correcting himself. ‘I  _ was _ a firefighter.’ 

Ellen chuckled slightly. ‘Well, that’s convenient.’

‘Yeah, it would be convenient if I had some equipment.’ TK said back to her. One last pull still didn’t do anything. ‘Uh, I’ll be right back, okay?’ 

‘I’ll be right here.’ she said.

TK hurried out of the bus to look for  _ anything _ he could use to get Ellen out of there. He noticed something leaking gas as well. This day was going great, TK thought sarcastically. 

He then noticed the already half loose bumper of the bus itself.  _ Yes _ , he could use that. With one hard pull, the thing was off. 

‘Carlos?!’ TK yelled to get his attention.

‘Yeah?’ Carlos’ eyes snapped to his. 

‘We got a gas leak over here, keep everybody back.’ TK said. 

Carlos nodded before turning his attention back to the people. ‘Everybody back, stay back!’ he yelled. 

TK moved to get back into the bus. His shoulder was starting to throb from all of the strain he was putting on it. He guessed adrenaline took most of it away. But that was a worry for later. 

He has a bus driver to get out. 

Ellen immediately noticed what he was holding. ‘Is that my bumper?’ she asked. 

‘Well, it’s no jaws of life, but it should work.’ TK said as he pushed the bumper under a leverage point. 

‘Oh.’ Ellen gasped.

‘Okay, okay.’ TK murmured to himself, before putting all of his weight onto the bumper. 

‘Honey, you’re bleeding.’ Ellen gasped. 

‘Huh?’ TK said as he looked down at his shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed. This meant he was right about the adrenaline though. It was going to hurt like hell when it was going to wear off. ‘That’s nothing.’ he assured Ellen. 

‘It doesn’t look like nothing’ Ellen said. 

‘I got shot.’ TK groaned out as he was still pushing the bumper. 

Ellen’s eyes widened in shock. ‘And I thought I was having a bad day.’ 

‘No, not just now. Earlier.’ TK said. ‘One of the stitches must’ve come off.’ 

At that moment, a shelf like thing shot loose. ‘Yes! We’re good. We’re making progress.’ He threw it to the side as he moved another beam as well to get closer to Ellen. 

The water was getting higher and higher though and Ellen was having a hard time keeping her head above it. 

‘I need to move you, can you move your leg?’ TK asked as he pulled on the last beam that was holding her down. Ellen groaned in pain.

‘Sorry, sorry.’ TK said. ‘The water level is rising, we gotta get out of here!’ Right at that moment, something burst into a fire. It seemed like the water had got to the wires somehow, the gas didn’t make it any better either. 

‘Is there a fire extinguisher somewhere?’ TK asked. 

‘There!’ Ellen pointed to the wall behind him. 

TK immediately grabbed it and started spraying it. But nothing seemed to happen. ‘Come on.’ he groaned in annoyance, throwing the extinguisher to the side. He turned his attention back to Ellen, once again trying to pull on the beams. 

‘Honey, honey, honey…’ Ellen gasped out as the water seemed to cover more and more of her as the seconds passed. TK’s looked at her as she put her hand on his cheek. 

‘You’ve done everything that you can.’ she gasped. ‘You need to g- go’ 

And just like that, all the fight seemed to leave her, as if she accepted her time had come. Her head sunk down onto the floor. TK wasn’t having it though. 

‘No, no, no. Hey. No, no. Hold your breath!’ he yelled, hoping she could still hear him. He dove down to give her mouth to mouth. At least until someone came to help him. Someone must’ve called 911 by now, right? 

Right. 

When he went down for the third time, he felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from Ellen and pushing a mask on his face. It took him longer than he would like to admit to noticing it was, in fact, his dad who was pulling him out. 

Judd and Mateo were working on putting out the fire while Paul and Marjan went on the bus to try to help Ellen. TK didn’t notice them though, too focused on getting his breaths in and on the woman pinned in the bus. 

Once they were completely out, TK felt all of his strength and the adrenaline leave him. His legs buckled but luckily Owen was there to catch him. He slowly lowered TK down onto the pavement. 

TK coughed and had his face scrunched up in pain. Owen was silently looking down at TK, mentally taking note of any possible injuries. The one most noticeable was his shoulder, which was covered in blood. 

After a few short moments, TK’s eyes finally focused on his dad. Owen’s eyes screamed ‘are you okay?’. He didn’t have enough energy to answer though. And then, all of a sudden, Owen looked up at the bus. Waving to signal that they needed to hurry up.

TK noticed as well. 

Groaning as he moved to stand up, he made his way over to the stretcher. Was she okay? Did she make it? He needed to see for himself. ‘Woah, Woah.’ Owen tried to keep him down but TK wasn’t having it. He moved beside the stretcher.

She was okay. 

Actually okay. 

He grabbed her hand and she laughed at him in disbelief. ‘You’re gonna be okay.’ he said as they wheeled her towards the ambulance. 

‘Go on, you too son.’ Owen said. 

TK turned to him, pulling his dad in a hug. ‘Yes. Thank you!’ he gasped out, pushing his cheek into his dad’s shoulder. ‘Thank you.’ he said again. ‘You saved us.’ 

‘Think everybody saved everybody here today.’ Owen said, looking back onto the street. ‘Go on, get in there.’ he all but pushed TK towards the ambulance. 

TK jumped in the back of the ambulance, once again grabbing Ellen’s hand. ‘I told you I would get you out.’ he said with a wink. ‘Well, with some help of course.’ 

She smiled up at him. ‘Thank you.’ 

And then they were gone, on their way to the ER. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! 
> 
> Kudo's/Comments are always appreciated! ❤️
> 
> Tumblr is @iwatchalotofseries


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I'm not sure how long stitches take. 
> 
> Anyone else who really enjoyed Oliver's scene in 4x04 (where he let out all of his anger to his parents) and Ronen and Rafael's last scene in 2x04. They both hit me in such different ways but that's what makes both of these shows so good ❤️.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!!

Owen was looking at the ambulance as it drove away. 

He has been worried about TK ever since he's admitted that he might now want to come back after his medical leave. And now he found him in an overturned bus, trying to save the bus driver who was pinned. Owen knew he would be fine after a couple of stitches and maybe some oxygen for the smoke inhalation. His main worry was what's happening in TK's head. His son wasn't exactly an easy talker like him. There were times when Owen needed to push  _ so hard _ for TK to tell him what was wrong with him. It has been getting better the past few months though, so Owen was grateful for that. 

'He's an impressive guy.' a voice pulled him from his thoughts. 

Owen turned and saw Carlos walking up to him. He smiled proudly and nodded. 'He's my son.' 

'He sure is, Mr. Strand.' Carlos smiled. 'I'm going to go to the hospital.' he continued. 

Owen smiled. 'Tell him I'll see him later. We need to clean up this scene anyway.' 

Carlos nodded and smiled, fumbling for his keys in his pocket. He was glad he was the one that drove here this morning. This way, he could now pick up TK from the hospital. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and shot a quick text to TK. 

_ "Hey, I'm coming to pick you up." _ the text said.

_ "Okay, thanks."  _ came the immediate response. 

Carlos smiled absentmindedly at his phone. At least there was no resistance. He wasn't sure what they were, TK was going through a hard time right now. If he needed to wait, he would wait. 

His car came into view soon. He got in behind the wheel and made his way over to the hospital. 

* * *

TK sat in the ambulance, holding Ellen's hand. 

She had her eyes closed but the Nancy assured him she would be fine. It would be a long road to recovery but she would be okay nonetheless. For him, it would be just a couple of extra stitches. He currently had an oxygen mask on his face for the smoke inhalation. He tried to convince Nancy he would be fine but she insisted. After a few minutes, she threatened to tell Owen. And  _ that _ made him comply, albeit still slightly reluctantly.

After a while, they finally arrived at the hospital. He wouldn't admit it, but he did feel better when Nancy took the mask off again. She told him his oxygen levels were way better before ushering him out of the ambulance and moving to pull the gurney with Ellen out as well. Tim jumped from behind the wheel to help her. 

They moved into the ER, Ellen was wheeled away almost immediately by a team of doctors. TK, however, was told to wait in the waiting room and a nurse would be getting him soon to stitch him up. His injury wasn't  _ too  _ severe so he needed to wait. 

It was boring though, just waiting. It always felt like it took way longer than it was. 

And then his phone buzzed. 

He whipped it out of his pocket with his good arm. Now that the adrenaline kind of has worn off, the wound really started to hurt so he didn't want to move his arm too much. 

_ "Hey, I'm coming to pick you up."  _ the text from Carlos read. TK smiled at his phone and a warm feeling spread through his chest. Carlos was really something. He showed TK what it was like to feel really loved. Alex never made him feel this way. 

They really needed to talk. Sooner, rather than later to be honest. 

_ "Okay, thanks."  _ TK send back with a big grin. 

'Mr. Strand?' a voice called out. 

TK looked up and saw a blonde nurse looking around the waiting room. So he stood up and met her with a smile. Her eyes immediately traveled to his shoulder, the blood was still very present. 'Let's take a look at that shall we?' she smiled up at him. TK nodded gratefully. 

They walked to a small room and she ordered him to sit down on the chair. TK winced slightly when she peeled away his shirt. It kind of pulled on the wound.

'Sorry.' she said sympathetically. 

'No worries. I know the drill.' TK said. 

'Oh?' she asked. 

'I'm a firefighter.' TK said. His eyes widened immediately, it kind of shocked him to be honest. It was out before he could stop it. 

The nurse didn't even notice the shock on TK's face. Well, of course not. It wasn't like she was a mind reader. She couldn't know that he was having doubts about being a firefighter. 

'I'll be right back to stitch you up.' she said, pulling him out of his thoughts. TK nodded and smiled. She has cleaned the wound already and he didn't even notice. 'It just needs a couple extra to stop the bleeding.' she continued. 

Once she was out of the room, TK immediately got lost in his thoughts again. He had zero doubts about helping Ellen when he was told she was stuck. He wished he was there with the truck so he had the supplies but he wasn't. So he did his best with what he could find. And he wasn't going to lie to himself, it felt good to know what he did helped her and that she was going to be okay. 

Maybe he was supposed to be a firefighter after all. He felt best when he was in uniform, helping people. 

Just then, the nurse came back with the needed supplies to stitch him up. 

She was done not even ten minutes later. TK walked back into the waiting room to meet a softly smiling Carlos. 'Hey there. You okay?' 

'Yeah, just a couple of extra stitches and an order to take it easy.' TK said with a soft smile as well. 

'I'm glad. You did well today.' Carlos put a hand on TK's good shoulder, his thumb rubbing circles onto the crook of his neck. TK unconsciously leaned into the touch. Carlos knew exactly how to make him feel better after a long day. 

TK's stomach rumbling broke the moment.

Carlos chuckled. 'You hungry?' 

TK smiled up at Carlos with innocent eyes. 

'Let's go get some something to eat then, shall we?' 

TK nodded excitedly. 

Moments later, they sat in the car together. Enjoying a veggie sandwich from their favorite restaurant. They decided to go through the drive-through instead of going in since TK still had his bloody shirt on. 

'Can I tell you something?' TK asked after a moment of silence. 

Carlos looked at him with a raised eyebrow, silently encouraging him to continue. 

TK looked down at his hands. He was fiddling with the wrapping of the half-finished sandwich, all of a sudden very nervous. 

'Hey, it's okay. Whatever you need.' Carlos said, noticing something was up.

TK looked up at Carlos to see any trace of a lie. Not that he thought Carlos would lie to him, to begin with. No, it was his anxious mind messing with him. But Carlos looked so sincere, only kindness and truth in his eyes. TK looked back at his hands in his lap.

'You make me feel like no one ever has before.' 

It was out before he could stop it. Again. Just like with the nurse. What was wrong with him today? The silence he was met with made him feel even more nervous and he didn't dare to look up at Carlos. He didn't want to see the rejection, the anger. 

After a moment, Carlos's soft voice broke the silence. 'Is that a good thing?' he asked. 

TK wanted to slap himself on the forehead. Of course, he had to make it weird. He found the courage to look up at him and smiled sadly. Carlos looked at him with worried eyes. What surprised TK the most is that he found no anger or rejection in his eyes. Only question. 

'Yes.' TK admitted just as softly. 

And at that, Carlos' eyes softened. 'That's good.' he sighed. 

'I want to try.' TK said. At Carlos' questioning look he continued quickly. 'Us. I want to try us.' 

The smile that appeared on Carlos' face was the most beautiful thing TK has ever seen. 'Really?' Carlos asked. 

'Really.' TK stated with determination. 

'I'm glad.' Carlos said. 

'Me too.' TK admitted. And he was. After Alex, he was quite scared of loving again, to be honest. He thought he found the love of his life, turned out they weren't meant to be. But Carlos was different. He showed TK on the daily how much he appreciated him, how much he loved him. Carlos knew exactly what to do and say to make him feel better when he was down. 

TK just hoped he could do the same for him. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!! ❤
> 
> Also, I love forehead kisses so expect more of them. 😏

After their conversation in the car, TK felt like a weight has lifted off of him. He has been walking around with these thoughts for days so he was glad that he finally decided to come clean. It took a gunshot wound and more stitches but hey, at least it happened. 

And to be honest, he couldn't be happier. 

Carlos is an amazing guy, able to make TK smile even on his worst days. Something not even Owen or Buttercup can handle sometimes.

And somehow, Carlos _did._

TK wished they could stay like this forever, just with the two of them. But they can't. They, no _he_ , needed to make a stop at the station. It's not been too long since the mess on the crosswalk, they may even still be there. 

He needed to come clean to the team. They deserved to know. Did he want to? Maybe not. Did he need to? Absolutely. 

'We're here.' Carlos' voice cut through his thoughts, a warm hand on his thigh accompanying it. Carlos rubbed his thumb along his leg. TK smiled softly at him before turning and getting out of the car. 

He walked the walkway up to Carlos' home. They'd decided to spend the night here since there was no-one except for them two. It's not like they didn't like the others, they just came to a mutual agreement that they wanted one night alone. 

So here they were. 

'You want something to eat?' Carlos asked. 

'No, I'm still full from that sandwich.' TK answered with a soft smile. 

Carlos returned the same smile. 'Okay. What do you want to do?' 

TK answered with softly slamming into Carlos' chest, tucking his face in the crook of his neck. Carlos tightened his arms around his waist. 'You okay tiger?' he whispered into TK's ear. 

'Yes. I'm just-' TK started, not entirely sure where he's going with this. 'I'm just tired.' he finally managed after a while. 

'Come on.' Carlos said before grabbing TK by the wrist and moving to the bedroom. He briefly wondered if this was too soon but after seeing the resigned smile on TK's face all worries faded away. 

'It's not even 9 yet.' TK questioned. 

'Do you care?' Carlos asked, one eyebrow raised in question and a knowing smirk on his face.

TK seemed to ponder over it a little bit. Carlos patiently waiting in front of him for an answer, eyebrow still raised. 'Nope.' TK answered, popping the 'p'. 

They shared a smile before turning into the bedroom. Throwing on sweats and one of Carlos' old shirts, TK crawled under the covers next to Carlos. 

There was no awkwardness between them. TK expected it to be completely honest. They haven't even been in an actual relationship for more than a day but it felt like it had been _months._

Carlos was on his back while TK laid on his side facing him. It was after a moment of comfortable silence that TK decided to take a leap of faith. He crawled over and tucked himself right into Carlos side. 

Instead of the rejection that TK's insecure mind expected, he was met with a soft chuckle and a strong arm around his shoulders which pulled him impossibly closer. Instantly, a weight lifted of his chest that he didn't even know was there. Smiling softly, he laid his head down onto Carlos chest. 

For once, he felt like nothing in the world could hurt him. He felt safe, tucked into Carlos' arms. Slowly, his eyes started drooping. Listening to his steady heartbeat made TK even more tired than he thought he'd been. 

And he slept better than he had in years. 

* * *

The next morning came quicker than TK liked. He wanted to stay in this little bubble they created for just a while longer. 

But he knew they couldn't. 

He really needed to speak to his dad and the team. He hasn't spoken with him since the call yesterday and he really knew he should. TK had even forgotten to text him to say he was okay. 

Movement from underneath him made him realize he was still in the same position he fell asleep in _and_ that Carlos was waking up. 

'Morning.' Carlos muttered sleepily. TK smiled at his _boyfriend._

Oh yes, he liked that.

Boyfriend. 

'Good morning sleepy head.' TK said. 

The chest underneath him shook with a chuckle. Carlos tightened his arms around him from where they had fallen while sleeping. 'How'd you sleep?' 

'Like a baby.' TK admitted. 'All because of you.' 

And that made Carlos more awake. Slightly getting up so he could look down at TK. 'Oh really?' he smirked. 

'Yeah.' TK sighed. 

'Maybe we should do this more often then?' Carlos teased. 

TK finally looked up at Carlos. 'Yes please.' he said with all the sincerity he could muster. 

Carlos' face softened at that. 'You're so cute in the morning.' he said, running his fingers through TK's locks. 

TK hummed in content. 

They stayed like this for a while. Carlos running his fingers through TK's hair and TK laid on Carlos' chest, eyes closed and enjoying it to the fullest. 

'What you want to do today?' Carlos' voice broke the silence. 

'I need to drop by the station.' TK said. 

'Oh.' Carlos murmured, slightly pouting. 

'It's just need to talk to my dad and the team. Shouldn't take too long. We can enjoy the rest of the day together okay?' TK said. 

'Okay.' Carlos sighed. 

'Can you drop me off though?' TK asked innocently. 

'Sure. Want me to come inside with you?' Carlos asked. 

'No, I'll be fine. I promise.' TK smiled. 

'You sure?' 

'Yes.' 

Carlos stopped running his fingers through TK's hair, who just pouted in response. Carlos dropped a quick kiss on TK's forehead. 'I'll get some groceries then, kill two birds with one stone.' 

'Okay.' 

Carlos was the first to get up, much to TK's dismay. Quickly throwing on an outfit and leaving to the kitchen.

He was right though, they really needed to get up. TK threw on his pair of jeans from yesterday and one of Carlos' sweaters, following said man into the kitchen downstairs. 

'Let's get some food into you shall we?' Carlos smiled from where he stood at the stove. Whipping up a quick breakfast for the two of them, they were out of the door in 30 minutes. 

Carlos grabbed his keys and got in the car, TK following closely behind. 

Now TK was growing nervous, fidgeting with his hands in his lap. 

'You okay?' Carlos asked. 

'Yeah, just nervous.' TK admitted. 

'Why?' 

'I'm going to tell the team about what happened in New York. I just don't want them to judge me but they do deserve to know.' 

'They won't judge you babe.' Carlos said, glancing at him for a quick moment. He knew what happened

TK smiled at him. 'I know right here.' he said, pointing to his heart. 'But this here is still catching up.' he continued, poking the side of his head. 

Carlos laid his free hand on TK's thigh and squeezed slightly. 'You'll be fine. I'll pick you up when I'm done okay?' 

TK could only hum in response. 

Not even 5 minutes later, they turned onto the station's parking lot. With one last smile at each other, TK got out of the car. 

'Here goes nothing.' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> Kudo's/Comments are always appreciated! ❤


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one scene of a couple of seconds (the one where TK is waiting in the station for the team) is the whole reason I'm writing this entire fic lol. Oh and from here on I'm slightly deviating from what happened in the episode itself. 
> 
> I'm sorry if this isn't my best work, I rewrote this three times to get it even near somewhere I liked. I hope you all enjoy anyway 🥺.

Owen was looking at the ambulance as it drove away. 

He has been worried about TK ever since he's admitted that he might now want to come back after his medical leave. And now he found him in an overturned bus, trying to save the bus driver who was pinned. Owen knew he would be fine after a couple of stitches and maybe some oxygen for the smoke inhalation. His main worry was what's happening in TK's head. His son wasn't exactly an easy talker like him. There were times when Owen needed to push  _ so hard _ for TK to tell him what was wrong with him. It has been getting better the past few months though, so Owen was grateful for that. 

'He's an impressive guy.' a voice pulled him from his thoughts. 

Owen turned and saw Carlos walking up to him. He smiled proudly and nodded. 'He's my son.' 

'He sure is, Mr. Strand.' Carlos smiled. 'I'm going to go to the hospital.' he continued. 

Owen smiled. 'Tell him I'll see him later. We need to clean up this scene anyway.' 

TK walked into the station feeling quite nervous. He was going to tell the team something he had kept a secret for so long. It worried him to have it in the open like that. Then again, his team was his family so he wanted to trust them with this. 

The first thing he noticed was that the trucks were gone, which meant the team was on a call. On the one hand that made him even more worried but on the other he felt a bit of relief. This meant he didn't have to meet the team head-on so had some time to prepare what he was going to tell them and how he was going to do that. As the minutes crawled by, he started to feel more and more nervous. TK walked up the stairs to grab a bottle of water before settling downstairs in the truck area. He could wait for them there. 

Soon, he heard the truck coming back into the parking lot. The rumble of the engines pulled him out of his thought train. Bright red filled his vision as he waited for the team to step out of the vehicles. His dad was the first one out, not really noticing him yet. The others followed soon after. 

But then it happened, the other truck backfired. 

Instantly, TK was back on that fateful call, battering ram at the ready. 

One, two, three... TK took a swing and then... 

_ BANG.  _

White-hot, searing pain ripped through his shoulder. Distantly he heard his dad call out to him but the pain was making it too hard to focus. TK scrambled backward trying to get away from the pain, landing hard on the ground in the process. He went further and further until something solid hit his back. He felt hands on him everywhere doing god knows what. TK was in too much pain to focus on anything but that. His breaths were coming in short gasps, lungs refusing to take in any air. 

TK saw his dad hovering nearby and he frowned in confusion. Why wasn't he helping him? Didn't he notice TK was in so much pain? Owen's mouth was moving but TK couldn't decipher anything he was saying. 

'TK?! TK? Come on, kid. Where are you?'

The voice asking him those questions sounded a hell lot like his dad but he was right in front of him. What the hell did he mean by "where are you". TK tried to focus on his dad's worried face but he couldn't. His mind was a jumbled mess of pain at the moment. 

Owen never went away from his side though. After a few moments, the world started to come back into focus more and TK realized he was at the station. Right. He was at the station. His dad was still right in front of him, hands hovering close but not quite touching him. He seemed almost hesitant. 

TK's breaths were still coming in as gasps but he finally heard the sounds of the stations around him. The muffled chattering of his team, his dad's breathing, his breathing, and the cars outside. It grounded him after whatever happened only moments earlier. 'You with me son?' his dad asked. TK's eyes snapped to his dad's and he gave a quick nod. Owen smiled sadly at him. 

'I- I'm sorry.' TK gasped out. 

'Hey, no apologizing, you hear me?' Owen stated. 'I'm glad you were here and not home alone or outside somewhere.' 

TK chuckled at that. Of course, his dad's helicopter parent tendencies came out whenever he was in danger or hurting. Always hovering close, ready to help at a moment's notice. 'Come on, let's get you up and to the couch.' Owen said, extending his hand out to TK and pulling him up. TK's legs felt like jelly when he was back up his feet, luckily his dad was close by to catch him. The team was already in the lounging area upstairs, chatting away about the call they just been on. When TK and his dad walked in, the chatting stopped and all eyes turned to them. 

TK dropped down on the closest couch while Owen turned to the team. 'Alright, go back to your chores you all. The earlier you're done the earlier we can eat.' he said with his captain voice. The team immediately dispersed to go do whatever chore they were assigned. 

'Alright, you want to tell me what happened?' Owen asked once he was sure they were alone, dropping down on the couch next to TK. 

'I'm not sure.' TK frowned. 'One minute I was here, then that truck backfired and I was back on that call.'

'I'm pretty sure you know as well as I do son.' Owen said, laying a soft hand on his shoulder. 

And to be honest, TK did. He just didn't want to admit it. Some people have been through so much worse, his thoughts immediately went to Judd, who lost his entire team for god's sake. And here he was, getting shot and already going through flashbacks. 

'I can hear you thinking from here.' Owen disrupted his train of thoughts. 'Whatever is going on in there-' he said while poking TK's forehead. '-getting shot is traumatic. You don't just forget what happened and move on with your life.' 

TK nodded, staring at his hands in his lap. His dad was right. 

'Can I ask you for a favor?' Owen asked softly. TK's moved his head so he was looking at his dad, one eyebrow raised in question. 'Please talk to someone outside of the team about this. We can help but we aren't therapists. It can help you process everything that has happened.' 

TK pondered over it for a while. A therapist could be good. 'Okay.' 

Owen answered with a soft smile. 'I'm proud of you son.' 

'Thanks, dad, really.' TK answered with a similar smile. And then a thought came to him. 'Can I work while going to therapy?' 

Owen's eyes widened. 'What do you mean? I thought you weren't sure you wanted to come back?' 

'Well, yes. But after that call on the intersection, I realized some things and I do want to come back.' TK said with a shy smile, warily looking at his dad for any type of negative reaction. When that didn't come, he fully looked Owen in the eyes. He was looking at TK with the proudest smile he's ever seen, it made him feel good about his decision. 

'Which things did you realize though?' Owen asked after a short moment of silence. 'I want you to be 100% sure.' 

'Can we go downstairs? This way I can tell everyone at once.' TK asked. 

'Of course kid, come on.' Owen pulled him up again. 'How did it go at the hospital by the way?' he asked the two made their way downstairs. 

'Nothing crazy. They just added a couple of extra stitches. I'll be fine.' TK said, shooting a smile at his dad. 

'Okay, good.' Owen said with his own smile. He clapped his hands together to grab everyone's attention. TK flinched slightly but chuckled nonetheless. 'Can I have your attention for a moment? TK here has something to tell you all.' Owen said with a smirk. 

Everyone dropped what they were doing to gather around TK and Owen, looking at the two expectantly. 

With one last look at his dad behind him, TK started talking. 'Okay so, I came here to talk to you all about something. And I would appreciate it if you all could bear with me, cause it's kind of a lot.' 

_ 'I'm an addict.'  _ TK sighed. It wasn't the whole story yet, but it was a beginning. TK looked at all of their faces for any sign of judgment but he found none, something which he was incredibly grateful for. They all were silently encouraging him to continue. He took a deep breath, wanting to start again before his dad interrupted him. 

'TK...' Owen said from behind him. He didn't know TK was going to tell the team about everything that happened before coming here. 

TK turned to look at him. 'No, dad. I need to do this. Please?' Owen watched him warily but gave him a curt nod after a couple of seconds.

So TK turned back to the team. 'It's opioids. And a few months back, in New York, I had a relapse... a pretty bad one.' TK said. 'I OD'd and my dad uhm... Well, my captain. He found me unconscious. My heart had stopped and, well, he did what he does best and he saved my life. The only reason I came down here is because he forced me to.' He turned around to look at his dad.

'What I'm trying to say is, I never really chose this for myself. Any of it.' The sad look in his dad's eyes almost made him stop right then and there but he didn't. He turned to look back at his team. 'Not even becoming a firefighter. And uh...' TK frowned, unsure how to continue. 

'Hey, hey... Whatever you gotta say right here, say it, yeah?' Judd said. 

Paul chimed in as well. 'He's right man, we got you fam.' 

'Yeah, well, that's the point. Because yesterday at that intersection when that woman was dying, I would have given her everything I had to save her. I  _ did  _ give her everything I had but it wasn't enough...' He turned back to Owen. 'Until you showed up. All you guys. And I knew in that instant that not only she would be okay but I was going to be okay as well because this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.' A big smile appeared on TK's face. 

'And, at least for now, this is where I want to do it.' TK said. The team all nodded and smiled at him. 'With you guys. So I choose this family because this is- this is where I belong.' Owen looked at him with a mix of pride and sadness. Judd and Paul nodded proudly. Mateo had tears streaming down his face, Marjan looking as if she was about to join him. TK chuckled softly. 'Well, that's all I got.' 

And then a burst of sound erupted from the group. 'Group hug!' Mateo exclaimed, wiping his tears away with his thumb. 

'I don't think that's a good idea.' TK tried to stop them, wincing as multiple people bumped into his sore shoulder. 

No one listened, though. Everyone was all too eager to have TK back with them. Mateo was the first bumping into him. Paul and Marjan joining from the sides. Judd, being the taller one, pulled him into his chest. 'I'm proud of you.' Paul said as he pulled TK into another hug. 

'Now, go on and continue with your chores.' Owen ordered. 

The team went all of their own ways again, moving to several corners of the station. TK watched them go with a sad smile on his face. He couldn't wait to join them all again.

'Hey, are you sure about this?' Owen asked, making TK nearly jump out of his skin. 'Sorry.' Owen grinned. 'But it's been a traumatic couple of days. You don't have to make this decision right now.'

'Dad, I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life.' TK said. Owen smiled and pulled TK into an enthusiastic hug, who groaned in discomfort but didn't let go. His dad needed this as much as he did now. TK buried his face into the crook of Owen's shoulder, soaking in the comfort his dad was giving him.

Moments later, it was Owen who pulled away. 'Alright, I've got some paperwork I'm going to finish up. Then I thought maybe we...' he stopped when Carlos walked into the station. TK turned to smile at his boyfriend. 'How many life decisions did you make today?' he whispered.

TK smiled. 'One step at a time dad. I'll see you later.' With that he turned to meet Carlos halfway, letting out a deep sigh. It felt like the biggest weight has shifted off his shoulders. He threw his arms around his boyfriend's neck, soaking in his comfort as he did with his dad only moments earlier. Carlos pressed a quick kiss on TK's cheek. 'How did it go?' he whispered. 

'Can we do this at home?' TK asked softly. There was a lot more to tell than Carlos expected. 

'Yeah, of course, baby.' Carlos pulled away, pressing another peck onto TK's forehead.

'Let's go.' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ❤️
> 
> Comments/kudo's are always appreciated!


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